Blog - Content Development

Newburgh, NY, is a town on the Hudson not far from New York City — and not so far from Brooklyn.

As is the case with many former industrial towns in Upstate New York, Newburgh has its share of large commercial buildings that are standing empty. Its “A River of Opportunities” initiative was instituted to attract industry back to Newburgh. So it was only a matter of time before they set their eyes on Brooklyn and its surplus of creative entrepreneurs.

A River of Opportunities developed a series of video profiles of various businesses that had relocated to Newburgh, and looked to BlankSlate to promote this series to the right Brooklyn audience.

When a magazine or newspaper covers an art exhibition, film, play, or other cultural event, they usually employ one of three different approaches. There’s the review, of course, which depends on the taste (and possibly mood) of the reviewer. There’s the profile, focusing on the history and personal life of the artist and only peripherally about his or her current work. And finally, there’s the “angle” feature, which often lumps one or more works of art together as examples of some trend or other cultural phenomenon, real or invented.

All very entertaining to read, but what if the presenter wants more control of the message?

Sponsored posts allow cultural institutions to tease their events in an editorial environment while ensuring that all of the specific elements of their message come across to the reader. They are written to be as entertaining and interesting as they are useful.

The tried and true BlankSlate approach to sponsored posts:

Work with the agency or client to develop concepts for the campaign

Find the right voice for the message, avoiding any approaches that might come across as a sales pitch

Draw upon the talents of the most talented writers and editors in BlankSlate’s publishing network to craft engaging posts, geared towards different segments of the audience

Strategically distribute the content across the various properties that make up BlankSlate’s publishing network

Extend the reach of the content to desired level through paid and organic engagement across social networks

BlankSlate called upon this process when working with Mindshare on a marketing campaign for New York City’s Museum of Modern Art. Following are examples of posts about featured exhibitions and events at MoMA, crafted by our stable team of writers and editors and distributed across our publishing network.

A look at the MoMA Art Lab, where children can learn about modern art in an interactive environment

And working directly with BRIC, the Brooklyn arts and culture non-profit, BlankSlate conceived a series of sponsored posts that ran across our publishing network, announcing the opening of the new BRIC House arts and cultural center: